Edge Wise: Superman

With word that Warner Bros. is apparently rebooting, again, the Superman franchise, Edge Wise felt it was appropriate to step in and put some perspective on the situation.

What situation, you ask? Well, that is a loaded question, and our answer takes point on the following issues: Why does Warner Bros. think that the best way to cure the Last Son of Krypton is to Dark Knight him; does Warners really think that one movie's success is the cure-all for all those that follow; what role will Bryan Singer play (if any), and, more importantly:

Superman, as a character, cannot do the things Nolan's Batman can do. He does them differently, not better. Faster, stronger - but "dark" and "Superman" don't go together as well as "dark" and "Batman".

With that said, Warner Bros. seems too eager to hop on their own bandwagon and apply TDK's success as the panacea for its franchises. "You say Superman is too clean? A goodie-goodie? Go dark, it's so easy." Short of handing out how-to manuals in an attempt to Xerox Batman's success, Warner Bros. is in for a world of disappointment if they think epic, earned tragedy is applicable to every DC hero; if they think Batman's recent success is easily replicated.

The only thing harder than holding this up is finding a good Superman story to tell.

The studio has been forever late to the party Marvel started. Trying to step up is admirable, but trying so loudly is not. Instead of thinking "dark" is the answer to everything, as long as the characters in question allow for it, try to establish a franchise identity unique to the properties worthy of the big screen. Don't tell fans that the powers-at-be know what the fans want when we are still piecing together what happened with Whedon and Wonder Woman. If that didn't work, thinking outside the box then, it is sure going to be an uphill battle to force it to work again.

And yes, Superman Returns is flawed, but not awful. Those behind the cherry-varnished desks at the Burbank-based studio should have known there was no way for Superman to do Batman numbers, especially in the wake of all the false-start development costs the Man of Steel accumulated. But moreover, is there something inherent in the character of Superman that makes his journey to the big screen more obstacle course than a smooth ride? Has everything been done with the character and, gulp, is there nothing more to say?